Sellafield Mox Plant
The Government is preparing to announce the construction of a new multi-billion pound nuclear fuel plant at Sellafield just weeks after an identical facility had to be closed because it was unfit for purpose. Officials have advised ministers to reject a “third way” of dealing with Britain’s civil plutonium stockpile the biggest in the world and forge ahead with a second mixed oxide (Mox) fuel plant at Sellafield costing up to £6bn.
Independent 10th Oct 2011 more >>
Belfast Telegraph 10th Oct 2011 more >>
We have the biggest civilian stockpile in the world because of some very bad decisions taken 50 years ago. It was decided that the small amount of plutonium found in spent fuel should be recycled for use in new generation of fast-breeder reactors. But the programme was cancelled some 20 years ago and, as we were committed to reprocessing, the result was a huge mountain of plutonium.
Independent 10th Oct 2011 more >>
Sellafield (New Reactors)
This morning’s BBC NW Politics Show discussed the impact of Pylons from proposed new nuclear build at Sellafield on the countryside . This is a bit like discussing the impact of new buttons on the toxic emperor’s coat. No doubt the great and the good in Cumbria who have been eerily silent on nuclear developments will vigorously campaign for pylons to go underground – this of course assumes that new build is a fait accompli.
Northern Indymedia 9th Oct 2011 more >>
New Nukes
Environmental campaigners are accusing the government of forcing through a programme of new nuclear power plant construction, without paying full attention to an investigation into the Fukushima disaster. In the coming week the Department of Energy and Climate Change is expected to release a final report, looking at the implications of the tsunami-hit Fukushima reactor in Japan for the UK nuclear industry. But Greenpeace say the inquiry has been conducted too quickly to properly assess the ramifications of the crisis, which began following the magnitude 9 earthquake in March. They say information is still emerging which needs to be looked at before the UK makes any declaration.
ITN 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Morning Star 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Independent 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Chernobyl
Twenty five years on from the worst nuclear accident in history what has been learned about the long term health effects of exposure to radiation? David Miller travels to Ukraine and Belarus to explore Chernobyl’s legacy.
BBC2 Scotland 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Hilda Murrell
The nephew of Hilda Murrell, the Shrewsbury rose grower whose murder in 1984 sparked a host of conspiracy theories and claims of an Establishment cover-up, has called for a reopening of the case because of explosive new evidence. Rob Green says that the new information proves that at least one other man was involved in the crime and this information would probably lead to the acquittal of Andrew George. George is serving a life sentence after being convicted of Miss Murrells abduction and murder following a five-week trial in 2005. In what became one of Britains most sensational crimes in modern times, the 78-year-old woman was abducted from her Shrewsbury home and later found dead in a copse in the shadow of Haughmond Hill. Mr Green outlines his case for reopening the affair in a book A Thorn In Their Side. He said: My primary and immediate motive is to expose explosive new evidence which proves at least one other man was involved in Hildas murder. This would probably acquit Andrew George. I believe this book prov-ides enough evidence, known to both prosecution and def-ence but not put to the jury or Appeal Court judges in 2006, to reopen the coroners inquest into Hildas death.
Shropshire Star 8th Oct 2011 more >>
Dounreay
THE Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) is investigating a radioactive leak at the site of the former Dounreay nuclear power station. The leak was discovered during a routine operation at the plant, which is currently undergoing a £2.8 billion decommissioning process. Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) said the plant was immediately shut down and the leak isolated and stopped. Sepa added that the leak was minor and did not escape the plant.
Sunday Herald 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Dungeness
EDF Energy stopped its Dungeness B21 nuclear power plant on Sunday, a spokeswoman said.
Reuters 10th Oct 2011 more >>
Dalgety Bay
Young children contaminated by radioactive pollution from old military planes at a popular Scottish coastal resort face a significant risk of getting cancer later in life, according to a new health study by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa). Babies or toddlers who accidentally swallow one of the tiny hot particles that keep polluting the foreshore near a yacht club at Dalgety Bay in Fife could get radiation doses hundreds of times higher than the maximum permitted from nuclear reactors. Earlier studies have underestimated health hazards from the pollution, Sepa warned. New tests have shown that more of the radioactive particles are likely to dissolve and stay inside the body than previously thought. Sepa is upping its pressure on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to take responsibility for the pollution. That means finding out exactly where the particles are coming from, and paying for them to be cleaned up.
Sunday Herald 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Herald 10th Oct 2011 more >>
Urenco
British taxpayers could be in line for a £3bn windfall from the Government’s one-third stake in Urenco after the target price was increased in a series of meetings between private equity firms and the nuclear power company ahead of an expected sale. A number of private equity firms, including KKR, have met the management of Urenco in recent weeks. Insiders say talks remain highly preliminary, as the UK Government has yet to reach a final decision on whether it wants to kick off a formal sales process. However, it is understood that thanks to very strong earnings and strong growth, a target price of £8bn-£10bn has been discussed. This is a huge increase from previous estimates of £3bn, which private equity sources said may be wishful thinking from bankers hoping to get in the sale. They, however, accept that £3bn is too low.
Telegraph 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Uranium
China’s growing attempts to seize global natural resources has reached Britain with a link to the recent shale discoveries near Blackpool and a bid for a London-listed uranium company. The state-backed China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG) is expected to launch a £650m takeover of a London-listed uranium miner, Kalahari Minerals, as early as this week.
Guardian 9th Oct 2011 more >>
FT 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Times 10th Oct 2011 more >>
Japan
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency have arrived in Fukushima city to observe efforts to decontaminate the area following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The 12-member team arrived as Japan announced the launch of long-term checks for thyroid abnormalities in local children. The screenings will target 360,000 children who were aged up to 18 on 11 March, when a tsunami overwhelmed the plant, knocking out power to cooling systems and triggering meltdowns in three of its six reactors.
Guardian 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Germany
Germany’s RWE on Sunday hailed a ruling by a Munich court as giving further backing to the utility’s legal challenge of the country’s nuclear fuel tax.
Reuters 9th Oct 2011 more >>
US
What’s the likely result if the more than 20 applications for new or expanded nuclear plants are approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission? That’s the question addressed in the report, “Big Risks, Better Alternatives,” by Synapse Energy Economics on behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists. The main thesis of the report is that forecasts for energy demand growth in the U.S. are now much lower than they were when these projects were initially proposed. The report focuses on two proposed nuclear projects in Florida and Georgia, states which rank among the worst in the nation in energy efficiency, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). If either state were to pursue even modest efficiency goals, peak load energy levels could remain below those of 2006. Further, neither Florida nor Georgia have meaningful renewable energy standards but do have significant potential for developing them.
IB Times 9th Oct 2011 more >>
Trident
Letter: Trident missiles for both US and UK submarines are held and serviced in a common stockpile at Kings Bay, Georgia; the UK does not own any particular missile. Thus the British independent deterrent is arguably British and arguably independent. That it is neither British nor independent is equally arguable.
FT 10th Oct 2011 more >>
